Thou Art Dead
by Miss Pookamonga
Summary: MonsterHouseJenny, DJ, and Chowder are on summer vacation at the beach...but who says it's going to be all fun and games? A haunted lighthouse leads them on another creepy investigation, and puberty is creating more problems than they had imagined ch 4 up
1. Chapter 1

_Dear Readers,_

_Yessssss, another Monster House fic! I absolutely LOVE this movie! There seriously needs to be a category for it...'cept I don't know how to add one: ( Anyway, while I was watching the movie, I was thinking ofhow well it was suited for fanfiction, and I was already thinking about what I wanted to write--thus, this story : ). This chap is kinda weird, but for all you DJ/Jenny fans, I hope it suits you. Chowder will be in the next chap, I'm pretty sure. So please R&R--and thanks to Id Pendemus or whatever your name is for writing the first MH fanfic!_

_Best regards from a Bookworm,_

_Miss Pookamonga : )_

**Chapter 1: A Phone Call that Was NOT from Beyond the Grave (but was startling anyway)**

_RIIIIIINGGG-RIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!_

D.J. moaned as he slowly rolled over in his bed and groggily held out an arm towards his nightstand. He blinked a few times as he tried to focus on his clock. When the image finally cleared, he moaned again when he saw the time. 7:00 AM. Who on earth would even wake up to call him this early?

Oh, right. Jenny.

D.J. reluctantly grasped the phone and held it to his ear. That darn Jenny, always bothering him at the wrong time—although he still had to admit that he was somewhat pleased that she even bothered to call him at all, let alone in early morning. _Gee, she must really think I'm important,_ D.J. thought to himself as he always did when she called, allowing a small grin to creep across his face. He sighed and answered.

"Hello?"

"D.J. Hi, it's me, Je—"

"Don't bother introducing yourself, Jen. I know it's you. You think Chowder would call at this hour?" mumbled D.J. sleepily.

"No. Yeah, sorry—okay, whatever. Guess what?" Jenny said in an excited, high-pitched voice.

"What?" answered D.J., trying to make his voice sound like he was showing some interest in what Jenny was about to say.

"I'm going to the BEACH!" Jenny squealed on the other line.

D.J. groaned and rolled his eyes. She had called him at _seven in the morning_ just so she could tell him that she was going to the _beach_. "Oh, that's—uh—nice, Jenny. But did you honestly have to—"

"And that's not even ALL of it!" she cried.

"Lemme guess. Your parents just bought a new beach house," D.J. said apathetically. _When is she going to hang up? _He asked himself mentally, annoyed.

"How did you _KNOW_!" shrieked Jenny ecstatically.

"I must be psychic," mumbled D.J. "Are you okay, Jenny? I mean, you never get this excited about anything, let alone the beach."

"Of _course_, I'm okay, stupid. But, but, but you HAVE to let me finish! My dad and mom, they said—" here she took a deep breath for some odd reason, "—that I could ask, at most, _two_ friends to come along! Isn't that _great_?"

D.J. was too tired to even try to comprehend what she was saying. "Umm…yeah. That's, uh, awe--_yawn_—some." He let his now aching neck flop back onto his pillow.

"Oh, _Douglas James_, stop being such a nincompoop! Didn't you _hear_ what I just _said_?"

"Umm, yeah, you, uh, are going to the beach and uh—_yawn_—you have, are bringing—umnph—_yawn_—"

"Ugh! Are all boys _this_ deaf? I can bring _two _friends to the beach with me, so that means you and Chowder can come!"

At first, D.J. hardly heard what she said. Then suddenly, after a few seconds, it hit him. Jenny was inviting _him_ and _Chowder_, of all people, to go to the beach with her? That funny feeling in the pit of his stomach started up again, and his heart began to pound with joy. _Wow, she's actually inviting us nerds to go to the beach with her? I mean, out of all her other _girl_ friends, she picked _us_ instead? She must really like me—I mean--_us.

"_Hello?_ _Hello?_ D.J., are you still there?" cried Jenny frantically over the phone.

"Huh, oh yeah," D.J. answered, snapping out of his thoughts. "Y-you mean we really can go?"

"Yeah, if your parents say it's okay. We're going for a week! It's going to be so much fun!"

D.J. didn't know what to say. He was still in shock. Wait till Chowder heard—

"Hey, did you call Chowder yet?"

"No, of course not. I'm calling him later, maybe around noon, when he finally wakes up."

"Then why did you call _me_ so early?" D.J. whined angrily.

" 'Cause I knew you'd wake up to answer the phone, whereas Chowder wouldn't. I just couldn't hide the good news any longer!"

"Ugh, _Jenny_!"

"Sorry, D.J. I didn't mean to disturb your precious beauty sleep," teased Jenny. D.J. just imagined that she was smiling slyly as she spoke.

"Oh, shut up. Can I go back to bed now?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm not your mother. Anyway, call back later and let me know, okay?"

"Yeah, if I can _remember _all this later," groaned D.J. sarcastically.

"Whatever. Just call, okay? Bye!" There was a click from the other end of the line.

D.J. replaced the phone on the receiver and fell back against his bed. Jenny had invited him to go to the beach. With Chowder. He, Chowder, and Jenny had been friends since October of that past school year, when they'd freed Mr. Nebbercracker and the entire neighborhood from his monster house-wife Constance. But he'd never expected that Jenny thought of him and his quirky companion as being two of her _closest_ friends. _I mean, she has to think we're close friends or else she wouldn't have invited us, _thought D.J. reassuringly. He was thoroughly surprised, yet wholly relieved. Jenny inviting him and his best friend to the beach meant that their friendship was bound to get only stronger. He'd always held a small bit of doubt about Jenny's loyalty to them even after the Nebbercracker incident and even after all her periodical early-morning phone calls, because she was so…_perfect_, and they were just a pair of total clods. But she obviously thought they were at least worth inviting to the beach, so D.J.'s worst doubts and fears, for the time being, were wiped away.

Now D.J. couldn't help but recall the kiss Jenny had given him so many months before. At the time, he'd hardly thought much of it, because of the perilous situation he, Chowder, and Jenny had been in. But afterwards, he would sit on his bed, like he was doing now, and just replay that moment over and over in his head, enjoying that weird sensation in his stomach. It had happened so fast, he could hardly remember what it had felt like, but he tried hard enough to remember the feeling of Jenny's face being close to his and her lips touching his own. When he thought of it, he felt happy—a different sort of happy than the type he felt when he won at Thou Art Dead. It was a feeling that he had something to live for, that he was worth something—a feeling that he'd had only once before, when he'd helped save Nebbercracker's life. Yet, somehow, amid that glorious feeling, D.J. couldn't help but wonder if the kiss had really been sincere. What if Jenny had kissed him only to induce him to climb across the crane and throw that dynamite into Constance's chimney? What if she'd meant nothing significant by it? D.J.'s heart sank, as it so often had before when he'd pondered these things. He sighed deeply and rolled over onto his side and shut his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. But a moment later, he opened his eyes again and realized with a strange queasiness that he couldn't fall asleep. _Stupid puberty, making everything so confusing, _he thought to himself with an inward groan.

And with that, he picked up his pillow and slammed it on top of his head.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dear Readers,_

_Thanks for the appreciative reviews! I was so scared that people would say it sucked : s , but apparently it doesn't : ). I hope this next chap is good, and I also hope that I'll get more reviews! So MH fans, READ READ and REVIEW, PLEeeze! Thanks!_

_Best regards from a Bookworm,_

_Miss Pookamonga ;-D_

**Jenny:** Is that pee?

**D.J.:** Uh...that? No, no, that's uh...

**Chowder:** Eww, D.J., you pee in bottles?

X D

**Chapter 2: A Little Chat with Chowder**

It was 10:00 A.M., and D.J. was sitting on his front steps, doing absolutely nothing except yawning every five minutes. Since Jenny's phone call had left him unable to resume sleep, he had decided to get out of bed at 7:30 to wash up and eat breakfast. His parents had been more than a little surprised to see him awake when they had finally gone downstairs for breakfast at 9:00. His mom had asked him if he was unusually anxious about something, and his father had inquired whether he had a toothache and offered to inspect his teeth. When D.J. mentioned Jenny's call, however, his mom just smiled that smile that she now always put on when he talked about Jenny, and said, "Oh, look, he's getting all gentlemanly over a girl. He's growing up so fast!" D.J. sighed. He wished his mom would stop thinking of Jenny as his _girlfriend_. Although that possibility was definitely not out of the question.

As he sat on the steps, bored out of his mind, he heard a familiar thumping sound coming from the sidewalk. He craned his neck to see what was making the noise, and to his surprise and relief, he spotted Chowder still wearing his red cape and dribbling his basketball toward D.J.'s house.

"Hey, hey, D.J., D.J., D.J.!" Chowder cried excitedly, rushing up the sidewalk. "Jenny's inviting us to--"

"The beach," D.J. finished for him as his friend ran up the walkway and stopped at the foot of the steps.

"She--called--you--al--ready?" heaved Chowder breathlessly.

"Yeah, but she told me that she was going to call you at noon. You get up around then."

"Well, she called me an hour ago. Guess she couldn't wait any longer.Woke me up at 9:00. If she wasn't a cute girl, I woulda pounded her by now," groaned Chowder. "I'm so tire--_yawn--_d."

"Chowder, you don't know _how _to beat up anybody," D.J. said, giving his friend a look and grinning.

"Yeah I do!" Chowder retorted. Then he hesitated. "Well...maybe I don't, but forget about that. What time did she call you?"

"Seven."

"WHAT? Are you sure you're still ALIVE?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't freak out. I'm just bored now, that's all."

Chowder smiled broadly and held up his beloved basketball like it was a trophy. "Wanna shoot hoops?"

D.J. grinned. Somehow, even when he acted dumb, Chowder always had a way of cheering him up. "Yeah, sure."

The two boys headed over to the basketball hoop in D.J.'s driveway. It was empty since his dad had decided to park the car in the garage the night before. Chowder dribbled the ball a little and then launched it into the air. It rolled around the rim and fell through the basket.

"And he SCORES!" cheered Chowder, throwing his hands up in the air. "Your turn." He passed the ball to D.J.

D.J. shot from where he was and sunk the ball. Chowder let out an enthusiastic whoop and took the ball for his turn. They went on like that for about twenty minutes until Chowder picked up the ball after one of D.J.'s turns and said, "Hey, this is kinda getting old. Wanna go to the diner to watch Skull play Thou Art Dead?"

D.J. thought about it for a minute, then shook his head. "Nah, Elizabeth--I mean, _Zee--_will probably be there. She's going out with him, remember?"

Chowder made a face. "Oh yeah. I forgot. So whaddya wanna do then?"

D.J. tapped his foot on the ground, trying to think of something until Chowder interrupted him.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you if your parents said it was okay for you to go. Mine did...well, after they argued about it."

"Go where?"

"With Jenny to the beach, you dork!"

"Don't call me a dork! You're dorkier! And yeah, my parents did say yes."

"Nooo, _you're _dorkier!"

"No, you are."

"Well, you're dorky-orky-orkier!"

"Oh...shut up. Did your parents call Jenny's?"

"Yep. Did yours?"

"Uh-huh."

There was an awkward silence that followed, during which both boys alternated between staring at the ground and watching birds peck at the grass as they looked for food. Suddenly, Chowder burst into laughter, followed by D.J. The two laughed until D.J. calmed down a bit and said, "Hey, why don't we go inside and play a video game?"

"Yeah, c'mon, let's go," said Chowder, still laughing. Then, the two headed inside.

_A/N: Sorry that this chap seemed so irrelevant to the plot. I just had this idea for a scene b/t D.J. and Chowder while they were playing basketball, but I didn't know what to write. I hope it was better than I thought it was. Will get more exciting, promise. Please review:)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear Readers,_

_I love you guys who read and reviewed! Thanks sooooooooooooooo (etc.) much! And all of _your_ MH fics are awesome! Yay for MH fans! Seriously, there needs to be a category for this. How do you post one, 'cause I don't know? Anyway, here's the next chap...for Fox or whatever your name is, I put in a DJ/Jenny moment. Hope you all like it. Read and review! Thanks again!_

_Best Regards from a Bookworm,_

_Miss Pookamonga ;-)_

**Chapter 3: Scrabble**

"Hey, D.J., your phone is ringing!" called Chowder from D.J.'s kitchen. He was grabbing himself a snack to eat while playing Super Ninja 3, one of D.J.'s many video games.

"Yeah, I heard," D.J. called, pausing the game and running upstairs. He entered his room and quickly picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Deej, it's me," answered Jenny's voice.

D.J.'s stomach did a backflip. _Stupid stomach, why does it always do that when I hear her voice?_ he grumbled to himself mentally. "Uh...hi. Why are you call--I mean--you already--"

"I'm bored. I need company."

"Well...Chowder and me--_I_--are pretty bored too. We've been playing Super Ninja 3 for almost two hours."

"Still stuck on level three?" asked Jenny.

"Yep," answered D.J., rolling his eyes. He let out a sigh. "Sooo...just needed someone to talk to, huh?" _Ugh, that was totally awkward, you idiot,_ D.J. thought to himself.

"Umm...actually, I was wondering if you guys wanted to come over for lunch. I mean, I really am bored...and lonely...and...umm..."

"No problem. Lemme just ask my parents. Hold on a minute." D.J. placed the phone down on his nightstand and ran to find his parents. A few minutes later, he returned, and picked up the phone again. "Yeah, they said it's okay. Chowder said his dad doesn't really care where he is as long as he's with either you or me."

"Okay, great! See you in a few minutes, then?"

"Yeah, if Chowder doesn't collapse while we're walking to your house."

Jenny sniggered. "I don't understand what it is with him. My house really isn't that far from you guys'. I mean, it should be a piece of cake for him to walk here--he exhausts himself every day playing basketball."

"I know," D.J. answered with a small smile. "We'll see you then." He hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, the two boys were walking to Jenny's house. D.J. was ahead of Chowder by about ten yards, and he was walking quite fast, eager to get to their destination. He tried telling himself that it wasn't because he _liked_ being around Jenny, but it was no use. The better part of his brain knew otherwise.

Chowder, on the other hand, was walking at a snail's pace, slowly dribbling his basketball along with him and heaving tiredly. "C'mon, Deej, can't we just rest for a minute?" he wailed.

"Chowder, you're pathetic. It's not that far!" cried D.J. impatiently, turning around.

"Are you saying I'm slow 'cause I'm _fat_?" yelled Chowder indignantly.

"No! I'm just saying that...you usually are pretty _fast _walking anywhere...except to Jenny's house."

"Because it's so _far_!" Chowder replied in a whiny voice.

"It is not!" retorted D.J. somewhat angrily. "We walk farther than this to get to school! And I would expect you to walk slower to go there!"

"Well, maybe I just...I mean...I do not walk faster to school!"

"Oh, will you shut it and hurry up?"

"I'm tryin', Deej, but my legs are killing me--"

"You're legs weren't killing you when you came over to my house to play basketball. Now _come on_!"

Chowder let out an exasperated huff and jogged up to D.J. "There. You happy now?" he groaned.

D.J. didn't say anything but continued walking. He figured that he'd never be able to understand what was so difficult for Chowder about walking to Jenny's house. In all honesty, it really was only a few blocks. Nothing much to sweat over. Besides, Chowder was undoubtedly smitten with Jenny, so it was expected that he would sprint up to her house as fast as he could. But, for some reason, he never did.

About ten minutes later (it would have been five if Chowder hadn't stopped twice to "rest"), D.J. and Chowder arrived in front of Jenny's neatly manicured lawn and even brick walkway. Jenny was already waiting for them at the front door. She waved at them.

"Hey! Hurry up before my dad decides to eat all the lasagna himself!" she laughed.

"Lasagna?" said Chowder, perking up. "I'm so there!" he dashed up to the door in a flash, leaving D.J. even more confused and frustrated than he had been a few minutes ago.

"You shoulda told us we were having lasagna before we left," grumbled D.J. as he shot a glare at Chowder. Chowder just shrugged and headed into the house.

"Mmm, smells good, Mrs. Bennett," D.J. and Jenny heard him say to Jenny's mother.

"So...excited for the beach?" asked Jenny shyly. Although she and D.J.had been friends since October, she still wasn't all that comfortable being alone with D.J. D.J. guessed that it was because of the _kiss_, but he never mentioned anything about it. He knew that they both still felt considerably awkward about it.

"Yeah," he answered, digging his hands into his pockets, searching for something that he knew perfectly well wasn't there.

"Yeah, me too," said Jenny, grinning. I just wish we didn't have to wait two more weeks!"

"Yeah, I know. I...I'm...really excited," stuttered D.J., at a loss for better words. Jenny just giggled.

"Well, come on in, before my dad _and_ Chowder eat up all the lasagna." She held open the door for him, and he walked inside and headed into the kitchen. On the table before him sat a large pan full of steaming hot, cheesy lasagna smothered in marinara sauce. D.J.'s stomach growled. Jenny was so lucky that her mother was the next Julia Child.

"What took you so long?" asked Chowder. "It's gonna get cold!"

"And I'm starving," added Jenny's father, just entering the room, smacking his lips.

"Oh, honey, you already ate lunch," sighed Mrs. Bennett, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, but that was _before_ you made lasagna," Mr. Bennett answered, his eyes gleaming greedily. "Can't I just have one tiny piece?"

"DAD!" Jenny groaned.

"Oh, right, I'm not supposed to embarrass the daughter--especially in front of _boys_," he joked as he winked at D.J. and Chowder, who both tried to smother chuckles. Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving. But you'd better save some for me, or _else_!" he growled, reaching a hand toward Jenny's stomach and trying to tickle her. She giggled and squirmed away.

"Stop it!" she shrieked.

"Matt, let them eat lunch," sighed Mrs. Bennett as her husband lifted his hands up in the air and left the room.

"You have the best dad," remarked Chowder as he placed a slice of lasagna on his plate. There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

Jenny and D.J. exchanged glances. Chowder always said that when he was over at Jenny's house. They all knew that it was because Chowder's dad hardly had time for him, and D.J.'s father, although better than Chowder's, wasn't always the greatest person to hang out with because all he talked about was dentistry. Jenny was more than willing to share her father with Chowder and let them go out together sometime, but Chowder seemed ashamed by the offer and always refused. Sensing Chowder's emotions, Jenny quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, do you guys want to play Scrabble? I have it right here." She pointed to the Scrabble box on the table.

"Yeah, sure, " answered Chowder before shoveling a huge chunk of lasagna into his mouth.

"I don't know," said D.J. with a sly grin. "The only word Chowder can spell right is 'cat'."

The comment evoked a nasty frown from Chowder. "I can too spell more words!" he spat. "I know how to spell 'dog'!"

Jenny, meanwhile, was trying to restrain herself from laughing to hard and spitting her food out. "Stop b-being so mean, D.J. Let's just play."

She pushed the lasagna to the side, and the boys helped her open the box and set up the game. As they were doing so, Jenny started talking about their planned trip to the beach.

"You know, there's a lighthouse at the beach we're going to," she said matter-of-factly as she placed her letter tiles on her rack.

"Cool! Can you go up in it?" asked Chowder excitedly. "By the way, I can spell that word too." He made a face at D.J.

"Yeah. I read a brochure about it. Apparently it's been there since 1841."

"Dang, that's old," said Chowder in awe. "What's it look like?"

"You'll see when you get there," said Jenny with a grin. "I've seen only one picture of it. I'd rather be astounded when I see it rather than just say, 'Oh, it looks just like the photo.' "

"Yeah, it's better when you see stuff for real for the first time instead of seeing it all in pictures," commented D.J., who had placed his first word on the board. He looked up at Jenny and caught her gaze. She smiled, blushing, and looked down at her tiles.

"Is it my turn?" asked Chowder, interrupting the conversation.

"Yes," said D.J., relieved that Chowder hadn't seen Jenny blush after looking at him. He wasn't sure how Chowder would react to that.

"Anyway," continued Jenny as Chowder studied D.J.'s word intently, "I heard the lighthouse is haunted."

At the word "haunted," both boys' heads snapped upward. "Whaddya mean '_haunted_'?" they shouted in unison.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," said Jenny. "It's just an old tale, that's all. Certain people have just claimed to have heard and seen weird stuff. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? Do you remember what happened the last time _certain people _claimed to have heard and seen 'weird stuff' going on in an ancient building?" cried Chowder frantically as he dropped his fork onto his plate. "Or do you have amnesia?"

"Of _course_ I remember about Constance, Chowder," answered Jenny, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Don't SAY THAT NAME!" shrieked Chowder.

"Okay, okay, whatever! But it's not like the same thing's going to happen with this lighthouse. I mean, for all we know, people could've just made the stories up. Right D.J.?" She turned to D.J. for backup, because truthfully, she hardly trusted in what she was saying herself.

"Everybody thought I made up the story about Constance," mumbled D.J., staring at his letter tiles.

"I SAID DON'T SAY THAT NAME!"

"Sorry, sorry! It's just--" D.J. sighed. "It's just that we can never know if the same thing could happen or not. And even if it doesn't, how can we be sure that the situation's not going to be just as dangerous?"

Jenny folded her arms on top of the table and glanced nervously at the pan of lasagna. She sighed as well. "So what are we supposed to do? Cancel the trip?"

"No. We just have to be careful, that's all," answered D.J., trying to sound reassuring. But he didn't feel all that reassured.

"I have to go to the bathroom," groaned Chowder as he stood up and headed out of the kitchen.

There was a short silence. Then D.J. remarked, "I hope he doesn't throw up." He obviously didn't mean it as a joke, because his brow was furrowed in worry.

"Look," sighed Jenny with a deep breath, "It can't be all that bad. I mean, if Nebbercracker's house hadn't have tried to eat us, then we wouldn't have become friends."

"Yeah," answered D.J. "But that already happened. Who's to say that if an almost two-hundred-year-old lighthouse starts attacking us that something good will come of it now?"

"Who knows. If history can repeat itself, then...the good things can repeat themselves as well as the bad. If you get what I'm saying."

D.J. let out another sigh, but he then blushed as he suddenly realized what Jenny was implying. He looked up at her, but she was staring at her hands, her face a bright crimson.

"Jen--" he started, but just then, Chowder entered the room.

"Did I miss more terrifying information? 'Cause if I did, good." He sat down. "Can we just play Scrabble now? No more talk about haunted lighthouses, please?"

D.J. and Jenny both nodded their heads. But the haunted lighthouse had already slipped their minds. They were both thinking of something else quite different than that.

**A/N: Sorry this chap was so long...I kinda got carried away. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Review please! Thanks:)**


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear Readers,_

_Thanks to all my dedicated reviewers--JayJay, TheFox101, Kuki, Id Pendemus, and anyone else I might have missed. I love you guys! The actual story is going to start developing soon, I promise. I'm just so glad you're all reading! Well...for the next chapter. I know this one's kinda irrelevant too, but I felt I needed to have the Little Girl in this story somehow. And the next chap after this might be similar...except w/ Mr. Nebbercracker, b/c I just need to have at least one conversation w/ him and D.J. in this story. But anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

_Best regards from a Bookworm,_

_Miss Pookamonga ;-)_

_PS: I've started an MH forum for anyone else who hasn't heard yet already._

**Chapter 4: Sometimes It's Nice to Have a Sister**

After D.J. had returned home from Jenny's house and bade goodbye to Chowder, he resumed his seat on the steps and rested his chin in his hands. He'd managed to forget about the haunted lighthouse while playing Scrabble, but now that he was alone and undistracted, the thought of it crept unwillingly back into his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw horrifying images of a cyclops lighthouse with red brick teeth and an extremely long tongue that looked vaguely like the winding stairs of such a structure. The tongue would unravel and whip out from the middle of the lighthouse, then all of a sudden snatch Jenny and Chowder and drag them away from him...

The images were so vivid that D.J. doubted that he'd ever be able to sleep on the trip. He hoped with all his heart that he and his friends would be able to actually enjoy being at the beach and not have to constantly be worried about another building attempting to devour them. He sighed heavily. Like there was any chance of that actually happening. D.J. was beginning to feel like a ghost magnet.

He scanned his suburban street with worried eyes, for some reason searching for something that would bring him comfort. As he looked, he spied little MaryJane Eckles pedaling down the sidewalk on her tricycle, singing joyfully. D.J. couldn't help but smile. MaryJane was like the sun peeking out from behind clouds on a rainy day. She was so lively and innocent that whenever D.J. was feeling down, he was glad to have her for company, although she was only five. Her sunny figure calmed his fears a bit and took him away from his distressing thoughts.

"Hi, M.J.," he called, standing up and walking to the sidewalk to meet her.

"Hi, D.J.!" she answered enthusiastically, waving her hand in the air. MaryJane loved being called M.J. Ever since the incident with Nebbercracker's house, she had shown such admiration for D.J. and his pals that she insisted on trying to be like them. D.J., who was amused by her adoration of him, Jenny, and Chowder, had thus decided to call her "M.J." to give her a nickname similar to his. In a way, she had become like his little sister. He actually enjoyed spending time with her, even though she often followed him everywhere, because as an only child, he had a frequent tendency to become lonely.

"How are you today, M.J.?" asked D.J., crouching down to her eye level.

"I'm good!" said M.J. with a broad smile. Her permanent two front teeth had now grown in, and they made her smile look even brighter. "I lost my tooth yesterday. See?" She opened her mouth wide and pointed to a vacant spot among her teeth.

"That's pretty cool. Did the Tooth Fairy come?"

"Yep! She left me a dollar. It's not much, but at least I got something. How're you today?"

"Okay, I guess. I haven't done much except visit Jenny with Chowder." D.J. had grown tired of crouching, so he sat down on the cement.

"That sounds better than you're making it sound. I wish I could hang out with you, but Mommy says I'm too young. By the way, is she you're girlfriend yet?"

D.J. grinned and shook his head. "No. No, Jenny's not my girlfriend," he answered, trying not to laugh at another of M.J.'s attempts to set him up with Jenny. Not that he minded it too much, though.

"Yet," said M.J. with a sharp nod. "She's not your girlfriend _yet._"

D.J.'s grin just grew wider.

"See, you're blushing!" she squealed. "Anyway, are you going on vacation this summer?"

"Yeah. In two weeks. Me, Jenny, and Chowder are going to the beach. Jenny invited us."

"See, I _told_ you she has a crush on you! But that's cool, you're going to the beach. I'm not going anywhere until July." M.J.'s smile turned somewhat into a small frown.

"Oh, that's not too bad. It's only a month away," D.J. remarked.

"Yeah, I know. But I still hate waiting. Are you excited to go to the beach? 'Cause I would be. I love the beach. It's one of my favoritest places."

"Yeah, a little," D.J. said, growing nervous now that M.J.'s remark had reminded him of the haunted lighthouse at the beach.

"Only a _little_? What's wrong with you? The beach is so fun!" M.J. wrinkled her nose and squinted at D.J. as if she was examining him, searching for some sign of impairment.

D.J. sighed. He wondered whether he should tell M.J. what he was worried about. Figuring that she wouldn't laugh at him since her respect for him was so great, he decided to. Besides, he needed someone else to confide in about his fears besides Jenny and Chowder.

"Well...Jenny said there's a haunted lighthouse there," answered D.J. hesitantly.

"So you're scared," replied M.J. matter-of-factly.

"Well...uh...yeah. Yeah. I'm totally freaked out." D.J. knew there was no sense in trying to hide the truth now.

"What are you worried about? You blew up a haunted house on Halloween."

"So?"

"Sooo, you shouldn't be scared. I mean, you and Jenny and Chowder are like superhero peoples except you destroy haunted houses. If you already got rid of one, what's the problem with un-haunting another one?"

D.J. opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped as he realized that what M.J. had just said actually made more sense than what he'd been thinking. She was right. What _was_ the big deal if he'd already battled one monster house? Couldn't he and his friends do it again if they had to? He had to admit that they _did_ have experience dealing with that sort of thing. _She's pretty smart for a five-year-old, _D.J. thought with a smile.

"What're you grinning about?" asked M.J. suspiciously.

"Nothing. Just...you know what? You're right. Thanks. That really helped."

"No problem! And if you ever need someone else to talk to 'bout this stuff, just go to Mr. Nebbercracker. But you probably knew that already," M.J. said brightly. "I gotta go now, 'cause my Mommy wants me home soon. See ya, D.J.!" With that, she pedaled off down the sidewalk, continuing to sing her song.

"Bye!" D.J. called as he watched her ride away. He stood up, then smiled even wider. Sometimes it was nice to have a sister.

**A/N: I just gave the little girl in the movie that name cuz I just thought it was cute. I have no idea what her name is supposed to be--in the movie she's just credited as "Little Girl." **


End file.
